Folding high chair



May 3, 1960 Filed July 31, 1958 A. MILLER FOLDING HIGH CHAIR 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 7

Abba Mil/er IN V EN TOR.

' Mk-um May 3, 1960 A. MILLER FOLDING HIGH CHAIR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJuly 31, 1958 w m m m \HI WM V 9 ll. 0 8 8 N .l w 7 5 2 M m I v L 6 6 ma 6 a \2 fi dm Hzwwwi 52 M W 4 4 I... 2 6 4 6 4 m7 6 .w M 8 A v3 5. MN 6m 3 iTEiE-T-:a-TTTT Y n SEC. .UWYKJMPW nvCCz k :r. B r l I 4.\\\\\M\\...... 2 m 2 v m 1 aw w 2 w h s 3 R T. m C LI uu m m L o F 8 5m m 9 n 1... Y 00 1 3 w V. d a m M F 52 Abba Mil/er INVEN TOR. BY 24mm MfiM United. States Patent 2,935,122 FOLDIN HIGH CHAIR Abba Miller,Cleveland, Ohio Application July 31, 1958, Serial No. 752,376

' 3 Claims. (11.155-131 Thisainv'ention relates in general to new anduseful improvements in childrens furniture, and more specifically to animproved folding high chair.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved childshigh chair which is so constructed whereby it may completely fold into arelatively small package for ease of transportation.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved childrenshigh chair which is adapted to be mounted on a seat of a conventionaltype of chair or other type of seat, the high chair including a basehavingsuitable clamp means for retaining the high chair on the usualseat.

- Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel clampmeans for retaining a high chair base on a chair seat, the clamp meansbeing in the form of a pair of arms extending outwardly fromthe base andhaving clamp plates on the ends thereof, there being guide mechanismsfor moving the arms with respect to the base and retaining the arms insuch positions.

A further :object of this invention is to provide an improved high chairconstruction which includes a tray, the tray being provided with aremovable insert including a screen overlying the bottom of the tray inspaced relation whereby liquids spilled in the tray will pass throughthe screen and be retained by the bottom of the tray and 'solid' foodsdropped onto the tray will rest upon the 'screen so as to be retrievableby the child.

'A stillfurther object of this invention is to provide fan improvedchildrens high chair which includes a standard having a screw threadedconnection with the chairportion of the high chair whereby the chair maybe vertically adjusted as desired.

1 1 These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details "f. construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the ac- "companying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

a Figure 1 is a perspective view of the high chair which is the subjectof this invention and shows the same mounted on a seat of an ordinarykitchen chair, the lower parts of the legs of the kitchen chair beingbroken away; Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the high chair ofFigure 1 'on a larger scale and shows the same folded fortransportation,there being illustrated in broken lines a convenient carrying case forthe high chair;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane of the section line 3- 3 of Figure 1 andshows the specific details of the various parts of the high chairincluding the means for permitting vertical adjustment of the chair ofthe 'high chair;

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken means forclamping the base of the high chair to the seat ice of thekitchen chair,the seat of the kitchen chair being partially broken away; a

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 5--5 ofFigure 3 and shows the specific details of the construction between thestandard and the back of the chair;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 6-6 of Figure4 and shows the specific details of the latch mechanism for retainingthe drive gear of the clamp means in adjusted position; and

Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view on a large scale of the traystructure of the high chair.

Referring 'now to the drawings in detail, it will be" seen that there isillustrated the high chair which is the subject of this invention, thehigh chair being referred .to in general by the reference numeral 10.The

high chair 10 includesthree basic components, a base, which is referredto in general by the reference numeral 12, a standard 14, and a chair,which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 16.

The base 12 includes a housing 18. The housing 18 is formed of a bottomwall 20 which terminates at its front wall and side wall in a dependingflange 22. Underlying the bottom wall 20 is a suitable pad 26. Thehousing 18 also includes a side wall 28, a front wall 30 and a side wall32. Connecting together the walls 28, 30 and 32 is a top wall 34 whichis spaced above the bottom wall 20. The rear portion of the housing 18is formed by a hinge leaf 3 6. It is pointed out at this time that thebottom wall 20 extends rearwardly of the hinge leaf 36 and terminates inan upwardly directed rear flange 38.

The base 12 is illustrated as resting upon a seat 40 of a chair, whichis referred to in general by the reference numeral 42. Inasmuch as onlythe seat 40 of the chair 42 plays a part of the presentinvention, noother details of the chair 42 will be described.

- In order that the base 12 may be clamped upon the seat 40, there isprovided suitable clamp means which includes a pair of transverselydisposed arms 44 and 46, as is best illustrated in Figure 4. The arms 44and 46 extend, through openings in the side walls 28 and 32,respectively. The arms 44 and 46 are guided within the housing 18 by aguide 48 which is secured to the bottom wall 20. Carried by the guide 48intermediate the arms 44 and 46 is an upstanding shaft 50, the shaft 50being mounted for rotary movement. Secured in l the lower part of theshaft 50 is a drive gear 52. The

drive gear 52 is meshed with rack portions 54 and 56 of the'arms 44 and46, respectively.

overlying the guide 48 and secured to the upper part of the shaft 50 isa plate 58. The plate 58 has connected thereto a suitable handle toeffect rotation thereof. The handle 60 passes upwardly through anopening 62 in the top wall 34.

Inasmuch as the gear 52 is disposed between the arms 44 and 46, rotationthereof will result in the movement of the arms 44 and 46 in oppositedirections. Thus, when the gear 52 is rotated in one direction, the arms44 move inwardly into the housing 18, and when it is rotated in theopposite direction, the arms 44 and 46 move outwardly of the housing 18.

Pivotally secured to the outer ends of the arms 44 and 46 outwardly ofthe housing 48 are clamp plates 64. The clamp plates 64 are of generallydiamond-shape and are connected to their respective arms 44 and 46 byfasteners 66 at one corner thereof. The opposite corner of each plate 64is bent inwardly, as at 68, to fit beneath the seat 40.

When it is desired to clamp the base 12 to the chair seat 40, the arms48 and 46 are extended so that the plates 64 are easily positioned onopposite sides of the seat 40. They are then swung downwardly alongsideof the sideedges of the seat 40 and. the arms 44 and, 46

are retracted by rotating the gear 52. The gear 52' 'inay beturned withrelatively great torque to effect a tightclamping action. The arms 44and 46 areretained in their chair clamping positions by means of theplate 58 which is provided wtih a plurality of circumferentially throughthe top wall 34 through an opening 80 formed therein whereby the dog 72may be moved to a released position. 7

Seated on the bottom wall 20 of the base 12 rearwardly of the housing 18is a channel-shaped bracket which is referred to in general by thereference numeral 82. The bracket 82 includes a lower web 84, aforwardly disposed vertical flange 86 and a rearwardly disposed verticalflange 88. The flange 86 has connected to the forward face thereof ahinge leaf 90 which is connected to the hinge leaf 36 by means of apintle 92.

Secured to the central rear part of the bracket 82 and extendingupwardly therefrom is the standard 14. The standard 14 is'seated in theweb 84 and secured to the flange 88 by means of a suitable fastener 94.Due to the hingedly mounting of the bracket 82, it will be readilyapparent that the base 12 may be folded with respect to the standard 14,as is best illustrated in Figure 2, in order that the high chair may befolded into a compact state. The standard 14 is retained in an uprightposition at substantially right angles to the base 12 by means ofsuitable fasteners 96 which extend through the flange 38 and the flange88, the fasteners 96 being removable.

The chair 16 has a back construction which is referred to in general bythe reference numeral 98. The back construction 98 includes a main framemember which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 100. Themain frame member 100 includes a horizontally disposed plate 102 havingextending upwardly from the central part thereof an internally threadedsleeve 104. The ends of the plates 102 terminate in' lar construction.

forwardly directed flanges 106 which function as stops. :1

Secured to the outer ends of the plate 102 is an upstanding invertedU-shaped back frame 108.

Hingedly secured to the forward parts of the back frame member 108adjacent the lower ends thereof by means of hinges 110 is a seat framemember 112. Overlying the seat frame member 112, which is in the form ofa relatively wide, generally rectangular plate, is suitable padding 114.Overlying the padding 114 and suitably secured to the seat frame member112 is a fabric covering 116. The fabric covering 116 extends upwarda lyforwardly of the back frame member 108 to form a back covering 118.Disposed rearwardly of the back covering 118 is suitable back padding120 which is retained in position by a layer of fabric 122. The rearpoltion of the back structure 98 is covered by a fabric 7 The standard14 is threadedly engaged within the sleeve 104. The standard 14 havingan upper screw threaded portion 126. By rotating the chair 16 withrespect to the standard 14, it will be readily apparent that the chair16 may be vertically elevated with respect to the base 12.

Inasmuch as the upper portion of the standard 14 is provided with screwthreads 126, it is highly desirable that there be provided a suitablecovering for the standard 14 which will encase the screw threads 126This covering is referred to in general by the reference numeral 128 andincludes a lower covering 130 of a tubu- The covering 130 is secured tothe lower part of the standard 14, as at 132, and is tele scoped over anupper covering 134. The covering 130 has encased therein a coil spring136 which urges the covering 134 up against the underside of the plate102 to form a continuous casing for the standard 14 irrespective of itseffective length. It is to be noted at this time that the upper portionofthe standard 14 projects upwardly into the interior of the backconstruction 98, which is hollow. I

Pivotally connected to the vertical portion of the back frame member 108by means of bolts 138 are arms 140. The bolts 138 pass through the backframe member 108 and are threaded into nuts 142 fixedly secured to theinner parts of the back frame member 108.

In order that the arms may be retained in horizontal positions, there isprovided for each arm 140 a link 144. The upper end of each link 144 ispivotally connected to the back frame member 108 by a bolt 146; The bolt146 passes through the upper part of the back frame member 108 and isthreadedly engaged in a nut 138 rigidly secured to the back frame member108. The link 144 for each arm 140 is connected to the arm 140 by meansof a bolt 150. The bolt 150 is seated in an elongated slot 152 in theassociated link 144 to permit pivoting of the arms 140 upwardly intothe-same general plane as the back frame member 108. The links 144 maybe detached from their associated arms 140 through means of an enlargedlink 154 of the slot 152. This permits the passage of the fastener 150therethrough.

It is pointed out at this time that the arms 140 also form supports forsides 156 of the chair 16. The sides 156 have upper portions telescopedover the arms 140 and are detachably connected to the sides of the seatportion of the chair 16 by means of suitable snap fasteners 158.

The outer ends of the arms 140 have mounted thereon a tray structurewhich is referred to generally by the reference numeral 160. Thetraystructure 160 includes a tray member which is referred to in general bythe reference numeral 160, and an insert which is referred to in generalby the reference numeral 164.

The tray 162 includes a bottom wall 166 which has formed at the rear endthereof a reversely bent flange 168 overlying the rear part thereof. Atthe forward edge of the bottom wall 166 is a relativelyhigh upstandingflange 170. The sides of the tray 162 are formed by upwardly projectingsleeve portions 172 formedalong the side edges of the bottom wall 166.The sleeves 172 are telescopable over the outer portions of the arms 40and retained in adjusted position thereon by means of spring clips orthe like 174 which are selectively-passed through suitable apertures 176in the sleeves 172 and through like apertures (not shown) in the arms'140.

The insert 164 includes a frame formed ofa pairof side walls 178connected together by a front wall 180. Secured to the side walls 178andthe front wall 180 intermediate the height thereof is a screen 182. II

The insert 164 is separable from the tray 162 and it is retained. inplace by snapping the screen 182 beneath the flange 168,- as is bestillustrated in Figure 3. The flange 180 then abuts the flange and thefriction therebetween normally retains the insert 164 in place. It is tobe noted that at this time, the screen 182 is spaced above the bottomwall 166 of the tray 162. Thus, when a child spills milk and otherliquid in the tray structure 160, this liquid will pass through thescreen 182 and will not be available to the childto playin. At the sametime, solid foods will not pass through the screen 182 and will remainavailable to the child to:.eat, if desired. This is also true of. small;toys and the like.

Inasmuch as the high chair 10 has the chair16 thereof verticallyadjustably carried by thestandard 14, it

will be readily apparent that it may be utilized by children ofdifferent ages. In view of this, when the child has reached the agewhere the chair may be used as a youth chair, the tray structure 160 andthe arms 140 may be removed by simply removing the bolts 138 and 146 andunsnapping the sides 156.

While the clamp plates 64 have been illustrated in conjunction with akitchen chair seat 40, it is to be understood that the utility of theseclamp plates 64 is not so limited. If desired, the base 12 may bepositioned transversely of a vehicle car seat and the clamp plates 64may engage the forward and rear edges thereof in order to securely clampthe base 12 to the vehicle car seat. The chair 16 may be then rotated tobe positioned fore and aft in the vehicle so that the child may ride ina normal position.

Referring now to Figure 2 in particular, it will be seen that the highchair may be folded so that the base 12, the standard 14 and the chair16, in its collapsed state, may lie in substantially the same plane.Thus, the high chair 10 will assume a relatively flat state and may beconveniently packed away or carried in a carrying case, such as thecarrying case 184, if desired. The carrying case 184 may be of thecanvas type for lightness in weight, or may be of the rigid type, but ineither event, it will be desirable that it is provided with a suitablehandle 186. v

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and changes maybe resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A high chair construction comprising a base, a standard projectingupwardly from said base, a chair carried by said standard, adjustableclamp means carried by said base for releasably clamping said base on achair seat, said clamp means including a pair of arms projecting fromsaid base in telescoped relation, means for retaining said arms inadjusted positions, said last mentioned means including rack portions onsaid arms, a gear carried by said base in engagement with said rackportions, and means for actuating said gear.

2. A high chair construction comprising a base, a standard projectingupwardly from said base, a chair carried by said standard, said chairincluding a rigid back structure which is hollow and which includes alower frame member, said lower frame member having an internallythreaded bore, the upper portion of said standard being externallythreaded and being threadedly engaged in said frame member bore wherebythe height of said chair with respect to said base may be varied byrotating said chair, and the seat pivotally connected to said backstructure, said back structure having a stop, said seat being engagedwith said stop to retain said seat in a supporting position, wherebysaid seat may be folded to lie generally in a plane passing through saidstandard, said standard being hingedly connected to said base wherebysaid base may be folded generally into a com mon plane with said chair.

3. A high chair construction comprising a base, a standard projectingupwardly from said base, a chair carried by said standard, said chairincluding a rigid back structure which is hollow and which includes alower frame member, said lower frame member having an internallythreaded bore, the upper portion of said standard being externallythreaded and being threadedly engaged in said frame member bore wherebythe height of said chair with respect to said base may be varied byrotating said chair, and the seat pivotally connected to said backstructure, said back structure having a stop, said seat being engagedwith said stop to retain said seat in a supporting position, wherebysaid seat may be folded to lie generally in a plane passing through saidstandard, said standard being hingedly connected to said base wherebysaid base may be folded generally into a common plane with said chair,adjustable clamp means carried by said base for releasably clamping saidbase in the chair seat, said clamp means including a pair of armsprojecting from said base in telescoped relation, means for retainingsaid arms in adjusted position, said last mentioned means including rackportions on said arms, a gear carried by said base in engagement withsaid rack portions, and means for actuating said gear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

